UCSB’s Actuarial Program

The actuarial program at UCSB, within the Department of Probability and Applied Statistics, is only one of two on the West Coast and the only one of its kind in California. UCSB’s reputation as a great school for prospective actuaries is backed by its recognition from the Society of Actuaries and the Casualty Actuarial Society. The SOA has designated UCSB as a Center of Actuarial Excellence, and was the first university in the West Coast to receive this designation. Moreover, UCSB was one among the four winners of the 2016 CAS University Award.

Alongside offering the BS in Actuarial Science degree, UCSB offers a combined BS/MS degree in actuarial science available only to those currently majoring in actuarial science. This program was established in the Winter of 2013, and was the first program established in California to offer a graduate degree in actuarial science. Over five years (and in some cases, four and a half years), students will complete a research project over two quarters, supervised by the actuarial program committee at UCSB.

Our faculty include top-level professionals who care very much about the quality of instruction and about student’s access to academic and professional opportunities.

Dr. Hal Pedersen, Director of Actuarial Science Program

Dr. Hal Pedersen is the current director of the actuarial program. He is a lecturer on several of the actuarial courses at UCSB and conducts research projects. Dr. Pedersen is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Ph.D. in Finance from the Washington University of St. Louis. . He was Managing Director, Risk Solutions with Conning and he is one of the creators of GEMS, Conning’s award-winning economic scenario generator. He is a frequent speaker at Society of Actuaries meetings and has more than 20 years of academic and industry experience in the application of financial economics to insurance. He is the principal author of the Society of Actuaries “Economic Scenario Generators: A Practical Guide”. He was L.A.H. Warren professor of actuarial science at the University of Manitoba from 2003 through 2011 and served on the actuarial faculty at Georgia State University from 1996 through 2001.